The Journey Back to You
by CherryBlossomWishes3
Summary: During the final battle with Madara, Sakura takes a serious blow that sends her miles away from everyone she knows. With the help of Juugo, she finds her way back home. Along the journey, she also finds her way back into Sasuke's heart.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

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The cries of agony and screams of battle echoed in my ears as I lay crumpled on the ground, holding my side. I scrunched my eyes closed and bit my lower lip as I waited for the dizziness in my head to pass. I could feel the warm blood run down the side of my eye brow from a laceration I got when I landed on the ground. That last hit I received from the ten-tails had left two ribs on my left side broken. I didn't have much chakra to spare but I had to heal them enough so I wouldn't puncture a lung. Another blow like that, healing the injury wouldn't even matter.

Killer B distracted the ten-tails, along with other long-range style shinobi, while Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino devised another plan to take out the ten-tails. Focusing my chakra to my ribs, I checked to see how the battles are going for Naruto and Kakashi.

Naruto took on Madara by himself. He was in Sage Mode again but it didn't appear that he was making much progress. He took a few blows but for the most part Madara couldn't touch him either, especially since he was using his father's flash technique.

The sound of a thousand birds and electricity filled the air as I watched Kakashi run toward Tobi, or should I say Obito. The Chidori passed right through him. Kakashi turned around and faced Obito when he reappeared. I couldn't hear what my former sensei said to him but I could tell the distress and anguish on Sensei's face.

I don't understand what could have caused a loyal shinobi, like Obito, to turn into what he was now. Kakashi never really shared with us anything about his past team, only the story of how Obito gave him the Sharingan. Perhaps it had something to deal with Rin. I'm not sure, but if we made it out of this war alive, I was definitely going to ask.

With I ribs mended enough, I stood and stretched a little, to make sure there would be no other discomfort. I then readied myself to rock the ten-tails world. We needed to immobilize him, at least until we could come up with another plan to seal it somehow.

I gathered as much chakra in my right fist as I could, and added just a little to my feet and sped off towards the beast. Once I was close enough, I rocketed my fist into the ground and watched the fissure make its way to the base of the ten-tails. The ground crumbled and opened up like a mouth about to swallow food, and the beast dropped into the earth about 12 feet, solidly immobilizing him for at least a short time. A large cloud of dirt blocked my view of the ten-tails, so I hunched down and waited for the dust to settle.

"What are you doing here Teme?" I heard Naruto yell.

I quickly turned to see what was happening and was completely shocked to see Sasuke standing near Naruto. He wasn't alone though. There were two other men as well. I knew I had never met either of them, but they both looked familiar. One had long, black hair and the other had spiky, white hair, and both dressed for battle.

I also noticed two men join Kakashi Sensei. I was completely surprised at who I saw. The last time I had seen the third Hokage I was only 12. He had died sealing Orochimaru's arms. There was also a spiky-haired blond who looked like an older version of Naruto.

_My Kami!_

It was the former Hokages of the Hidden Left. How was that even possible? The only people who could revive the Hokages were Kabuto and Orochimaru. Someone had already taken out Kabuto, I was sure of it, especially since there were no more revived shinobi or Zetsus attacking.

_No way!_

Orochimaru was dead! It's impossible! Then of course, the impossible just strides right on up and places a hand of Sasuke's shoulder.

_Dear Kami, take me now!_

Without hesitation, Sasuke pushed his hand away. I can see his lips move but I heard nothing. I saw Orochimaru chuckle and then his eyes turned and peered at me. He smiled and gave me a small wave. This caught Sasuke's eye, he turned and looked at me as well. I'm immediately struck breathless. His eyes, they're different somehow, no longer dark and empty but softer and burning with conviction. They suddenly change though. Is that fear I see reflected in his eyes?

"Look out! Behind you!"

I darted my eyes to see a huge, orange haired man running towards me. It was hard to describe him. He had the face of a gentle child, full of worry and concern, but yet it was like his body was transforming and was almost…monstrous. He was still a good bit away from me.

I turned to see what he was yelling about. The ten-tails was back into fighting mode and gathering a large amount of energy into his mouth. He had his gaze sat on me.

_Kami, when I said take me now I wasn't serious!_ At this point, I had no way of getting out of his range. So this was it. I was out of moves. This really wasn't the time for me to try something new but if I was going to die anyway, what would it hurt?

I gathered every last ounce of my chakra and pushed it out in front of my body, almost like a half sphere. For the first time in my life I could see the chakra manifest itself. It moved like emerald waves but at the same time it was solid. I really hoped this worked.

If all goes right, once the energy from the ten-tails' orb hits my sphere, they'll bounce right off each other. Effectively sending the orb on another path as well as launching me off somewhere into the distance, which was the unpredictable part. With all of my chakra tied into my last-ditch effort, I would lose consciousness. There was also no telling how far I would be thrown, and with no way to protect myself, I will more than likely die anyway.

With my steel resolve I looked toward my teammates one last time. Finally, Naruto was making progress with Sasuke's help. I was glad to see them fighting side by side again. If that was the last memory I would have of the both of them, I'll gladly accept it. Their rekindled bond has only made Naruto stronger and more determined than ever to win this battle.

Kakashi was still holding his own, but Obito looked a little worse for the wear. I really hoped Kakashi didn't have to kill his last teammate. Sasuke came back, so perhaps there was still time for redemption.

I would miss them, and the worst part of it all wasn't that I was about to die, but that I wouldn't be able to say goodbye.

I heard a shrill shriek in the air coming from the energy orb, so I turned to face my fate. The dark mass was hurdling right towards me. I rested my weight on the balls of my feet and readied myself to jump as the two forces collide. It was about to hit my chakra field when the man from earlier steps in front of me.

It all happened so quickly. He wrapped his monstrous arms around me, shielding me with his body, and jumped as the two energies collided. The light created by the collision blinded me. I felt the force of it push our bodies into space. It was a remarkable, weightless flight. My body was giving in and going limp against his. I tried my best to stay awake, but I was drowning in the light that was quickly becoming black. Before I fell into complete darkness though, I whispered my goodbye wish.

"Naruto…live."

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**I hope everyone enjoys reading this first chapter. This is my first story on FanFiction, so please review and let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank everyone who read the first chapter and reviewed. So far it's all been positive, which I hope it stays that. I was so excited about how well the first chapter went over I rushed to finish this chapter so you could continue reading. Unfortunately, there is no Sasuke in this chapter, however he will appear in the next and you'll see POV from him as well. So on to this chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own NARUTO.**

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My eyes fluttered open into the bright light. I quickly shut them. _So I did die. Everything seemed brighter than I really expected. Maybe I'll see Jiraiya in this afterlife. I can tell him how much Naruto has truly grown. He'd be so proud of him, I know it!_

I slowly opened my eyes again and let my eyes adjust to the light. I honestly had not expected to see what I did. When my eyes finally adjusted, I realized the bright light was only the sun shining through the window and directly on the hospital bed, on which I was lying. Also at the window was the orange haired man who tried to shield me from the blast, however, he no longer seemed monstrous. His arms looked like an average mans, although slightly bulky from his muscles.

There was a small finch perched on his finger. He gently whispered to the bird as he lightly scratched between the bird's wings. The bird tweeted back, as though they were happily engaged in a conversation. I couldn't help but smile. This guy was truly a gentle giant.

He suddenly lifted his right hand out the window and the bird flew off. He then turned to me with a concerned expression.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up," he said.

I didn't understand how he could care so much about a stranger he'd never met before. I opened my mouth to respond but my throat was dry. It hurt to try to get even a simple sound to leave my lips.

The gentle giant stood from his seat and walked towards me. Once at my bedside, he took a cup, which had sat on the side table, and brought it to my lips. I took a sip of the room temperature water, slowly swallowing it. I took another sip before I tried to speak again.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Six days. The nurse said you were completely exhausted of chakra and they weren't sure you'd ever wake up."

I wasn't entirely surprised about this. I knew the risk for chakra exhaustion. Several cases I took when I worked in the hospital in Konoha, the patients immediately died from their bodies going into shock. There were also those who went into a deep coma, like Tsunade Shishou after Pein attacked the village. She was out for a little over a month before she woke. Most time the patients never woke up. It was terribly depressing to watch the families come in everyday hoping and praying there would be some improvement and that their loved ones would wake.

I reached up to take the cup from his hand, which the finch had recently perched, but my hand quickly fell back on the bed. I had no strength at all. I was so weak and I hated it. I looked down at my hand and saw the IV hooked to the bag of fluids above my head. When had I become this unobservant?

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You've been in a coma for almost a week. It'll take time to readjust," he assured me. I was almost bothered by the fact he could read my mind so easily. "Yesterday she said your chakra was still at a minimal level and that normally they would've performed chakra infusion therapy, but that all the doctors where still at the battlefield healing the injured. She said once you wake up and start moving and eating real food, you'll be back at optimal level in no time."

_The war! How could I have forgotten? Did we win? Is everyone alright? Did Naruto make it?_

"Is the war over?" I asked.

"I think so," he said then nodded, as if to reassure himself. "When you woke up, I was asking the bird if there were still any disturbances around. She assured me everything was alright." So he really didn't know any more than I did. "I should let the nurse know you're awake."

He left the room but returned shortly after. When he came back in, he went directly to his chair by the window. There were so many questions I still had for him, but I could tell, after he came back, he was uneasy and a little perturbed. I don't know what happened when he went to find the nurse but he was definitely on edge now. I was about to ask if everything was alright but the nurse came through the door first.

"Good morning miss, nice to you see you awake. It's a shame to hide those eyes from the world," the elderly nurse told me. This woman could have easily been my grandmother and should probably have retired by now. Signs of arthritis showed on her fingers, bent digits and swollen knuckles. "So miss, what's your name?"

"Haruno. Sakura Haruno."

"It's fitting isn't it," she responded with a genuine smile. She started to go over their diagnosis and treatment plan. I've heard it all before especially since I'm usually the one explaining it to my patients.

In the corner of my eye I watch my gentle giant. His shoulders were tense and he was wrinkling the fabric of his pants by fisting it. Surely he's not disturbed by this woman talking? I know her speech is a little tedious but not that bad. I wonder if she knows anything about what is going on with the war.

"…we'll have you rest here another two days and discharge yo—"

"Do you know anything about the war?" I interrupted her speech.

"Oh my child, the things that happened in your sleep!" she exclaimed. "The nations won! The war is over. Thank goodness too. I'm ready to go back into my retirement. You know, we old timers run most of this hospital. We came to help while the young doctors and nurses went to the battlefield. Oh my have I forgotten how tiring it…" She continued to babble on about the hospital and how so much had changed since she first became a nurse.

I was able to breathe easy now knowing it was all over. I still needed to find out about Naruto and Kakashi, if they were alright. I also wondered if Sai had been able to find Yamato. He'd been missing since the war began. He had gone on the mission as Naruto's bodyguard but never came back when the rest of them entered the battlefield.

"Well I'll leave you to rest. I'll get one of our little volunteers to bring you two something to eat," she said. Before she was completely out the door she stopped again, but this time she spoke to my gentle giant. "You really should let one of the nurses look at that." He didn't make any motion that indicated he had even heard her. She sighed and left the room.

What was she talking about? Was he hurt? I then noticed that his left arm laid limp at his side. _Wow, yet again something I didn't notice! He has a dislocated shoulder. How long has he been like that? Has it been dislocated this entire time I've been asleep?_ He didn't even act as though he was in pain. And why wouldn't he let them put it back in place?

The moment the nurse left, the tension he'd been holding in his shoulders vanished. He was now the relaxed, gentle giant I woke up to find. I really needed to call him something other than gentle giant.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Juugo," he replied, still looking out the window.

"Juugo…," I said, and waited for him to look at me. I think he must have finally understood that was what I was waiting for because he finally turned to face me. With his scarlet eyes looking into mine, I gave him a sincere smile and said, "Thank you!"

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**Please review. I'd love to hear from you. The more feedback I get, the more motivated I am to write and to write quickly. :) **

**I would also like some advice from you authors. Should I look into finding a beta reader? I'm not sure exactly how it all works.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Again thank you to everyone reading and reviewing my story. You'll never know how much you support means to me and motivates me to continue writing.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

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**Sasuke POV**

My eyes opened to a dim sight, everything shaded in black and grey tones. It appeared as though I was in a tent and lying on a cot. In my head, I quickly raced through the events of battle.

It was finally over. After almost four years, I had finally avenged my clan. I wish I had known the truth sooner and I had known Itachi better. After years of hatred I carried toward him in my heart, I now understood his motives–his, Shisui's, and countless other Uchihas' intentions of protecting the village and creating a peace. Had I only seen things the way Naruto had, I might have never left the village, but then again I may have never known the truth either.

Speaking of the loudmouth, mumblings from an unconscious Naruto, lying in a cot next to mine, didn't escape my ears.

"Oh my precious…ramen…hmmm….raaa—meennn," the dobe mumbled. I didn't have to look, I could imagine the smile on his face while he dreamt of his precious ramen. How anyone could live on a diet that consisted of mostly ramen alone was beyond me.

I couldn't take his constant ramblings anymore about ramen, so I sat up on the cot and swung my legs around so that my feet touched the ground. I needed a minute of just sitting there to let the dizziness pass, since I had probably been asleep for some time. Once I was ready, I stood, standing directly in front a Naruto. His features were a little blurry, but I could still make out his blonde hair. It had been a long time since I could take a good look at him. He still looked like the same goof, only he was leaner than before. He had lost most of the baby fat from around the face and looked more like the Yondaime than ever.

I went the step around his cot when I notice something glimmer on a side table that sat between our cots. Stepping closer the table I noticed that the glimmer came from the metal of a hitai-ate with the symbol of the leaf on it. I allowed my fingers to glide across the surface and trace the symbol. I was immediately bought back to the memory of my own hitai-ate. Naruto's hitai-ate, although nicked and slightly damaged from battle, was not crossed through like mine had been. Naruto was a true shinobi to the village where I was nothing more than a rogue ninja who had no village to call home anymore.

With this realization, I drew my hand back from the cool metal. It was time to go. I hadn't exactly planned to live through battle, so I had no plans from here about what to do. Of course I had considered returning to Konoha, but after my defection from the village, could I really go back? My heart truly yearned at the possibility, I had fought to for the hidden leaf all, but things never became as simple as just walking back in there.

Now that I lived through the battle, I still wanted to rebuild the Uchiha clan, and there would be no better place than my home village for that. I wouldn't let the clan follow the same footsteps. There would never be another Madara and there would never be another martyr like Itachi either.

I turned from the side table and walked to the end of my cot where my shirt, belt, and sword of Kusanagi laid on a stool. I donned the shirt, covering the bandages that were wound around my torso.

During the battle with Madara I received couple hard blows. One blow broke two ribs and cracked three others. Another blow happened when I stepped in front of Naruto, receiving a large gash from my right shoulder all the way down to my left hip. It was a good thing the battle had ended soon after that or I may not have able to get help from the med-nins in time.

I fixed my Kusanagi into my belt and walked to the opening of the tent. With the tent flap firmly in my hand, I turned to look at Naruto one last time. Everything in me wanted to stay and wait till Naruto woke up, but no matter how much I wanted to I couldn't. I didn't even know what I would say to him. I knew he would immediately ask if I was going to come back to Konoha, but I didn't have an answer for him, at least not yet. So I said the only thing that came to mind.

"Thank you."

I opened the flap and stepped out into the crisp night air. I looked up into the sky and saw the waning moon. It was a good sign, a reminder that Madara was unable to enact his plan. I started walking away but I hadn't made it five steps from the tent before I heard him.

"Yo."

Up ahead of my position, sitting on a low tree branch was Kakashi. He seemed to be rather comfortable with his back leaning against the trunk and his nose in his _Icha Icha Paradise _book. Some things never changed. He wasn't even looking at me as he continued the conversation.

"Taking off already?" he asked.

"Hai."

This seemed to garner enough of his attention that he closed his book and slid it into his pocket.

"It's probably a better time than any. All the Kages are still resting, so no one will stop, but I'm sure they'd all like their chance to speak to you," he said.

"Hn," I responded with a slight tilt of my head.

I'm sure he was debating what to say next because he remained silent for the next minute.

"For what it's worth, Itachi would be proud of you, no matter what you had decided to do," he finally said.

"I know."

I didn't look directly at him but I could hear him shuffling around in his vest. Whatever it was, he held it a while after pulling it out. He then tossed it to me and I easily caught it. I didn't have to look at it the know exactly what it was. The cold metal and the dark blue fabric attached to it let me know I was holding my old hitai-ate. I turned it around in the palm of my hand so that the leaf symbol was visible. My eyes traced the scratch across its surface before I turned it back over, as if to hide my guilt from defecting.

"When you're ready, we'll be waiting for you," he offered.

I stood there for a minute considering his proposal, but I didn't know how to respond to it. He was always able to read me better than I could myself and he knew I still had some issues to work out. Knowing our conversation was coming to a close, he pulled his book out pocket and opened it to the place he left off. After a while I began walking again, quickly passing by him. He stopped me again before I had gotten to far.

"Suigetsu and Karin are waiting of the outskirts of the camp. Karin has already been scouting for his chakra," he said pausing before making a request. "Make sure my student makes it home safe will ya?"

I didn't know what part of that request I was more surprised about, his prediction of me making it all the way back to Konoha or the fact he trusted me with such a precious mission. Yes, he definitely thinks he knows me better than I do too.

I turned my head to face him so he could have a view of the smirk on my face. Once we made eye contact I responded, "Hn," and vanished into the treetops.

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**Sakura POV**

When the nursed had said she'd get one of the little volunteers to bring us something to eat, I hadn't really been expecting someone so small. Indeed they were "little," probably no older than eight years old.

About an hour after the nurse had left, a timid little girl had knocked on the door carrying a tray of food. Behind her, trying to stay hidden, was a boy, who had a striking resemblance to the girl, carrying a tray of glasses and a pitcher of water. They both stood at the entrance of the room, so I smiled at them and beckoned them to come in.

The boy hastily placed his tray on the side table and turned to help the girl unfold the legs, which were underneath her tray, so that they could sit the tray on my lap. I could tell by their small, meek movements that they were trying not to draw attention to themselves. I wanted to lighten their mood a little, so I started talking to them.

"Are you two related?" I asked. The boy's eyes went wide, he hadn't expected me to say a thing to them, and perhaps he was slightly more frightened than the girl.

"Yes ma'am. He's my twin brother," she answered softly. She greatly avoided eye contact with me as she placed the tray on my lap.

"I wish I had a sibling or two. Oh, and you can call me Sakura, and you can call him...," I said pointing to the window, where my gentle giant had sat silently since I had told him thank you, "Juugo." At that, Juugo turned to look at the children and gave them the gentlest smile I'd seen from him yet.

"I'm Akemi and my brother is Isamu," she said. They both seemed much more relaxed now. Akemi started to fidget, rubbing her ankles together and playing with her fingers. She looked up at me and finally asked, "Are you really a ninja?"

I couldn't help but giggle innocently at the girl's question. The twins both smiled at me. Even Juugo was smiling at me.

"Hai," I answered. "I'm a med-nin for my village. So I mostly heal the sick and injured."

"Wow that's so cool," they both said simultaneously, which caused me to laugh a little more. They then let out a full attack of questions.

"Do you kick butt?"

"Do you have any secret Justus?"

"Were you fighting in the war?"

"How many missions have you been on? Which was the coolest?"

"Can you show us any moves?"

"Can you teach us any moves?"

"Can you—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy. You're going to run out of air," I jokingly said. They both sucked in a big breath and held it. I laughed them. My laughter must have been infectious too because they both blew out the air they held and began giggling. "Why don't I tell you some stories about my missions?"

"Yes, please," they said excitedly.

"But first, let's eat!" I opened one of the bento boxes on the tray and handed it to Isamu. I asked him if he could take it to Juugo, along with a cup of water. Juugo accepted it from him, placing the bento box on his lap and the glass of water on the window sill. Isamu quickly raced back to my bed side. I told them they could sit on the end of the bed and I would tell them about being a shinobi and my missions.

For two hours the twins sat there, intently listening to my tales. Occasionally they would interject and ask a question or two. Juugo listened as well. During this time, he would place small scrapes of his food for the birds and the squirrels to munch on as well. I caught Isamu watching his interactions with the animals.

Akemi kept all her attention on me though. She was definitely becoming my number one fan, well maybe second behind Lee. Around the two-hour mark though, the nurse that had previously checked on me, came back into the room to gather the children. Come to find out, the twins were actually her grandchildren. They left with her after assuring me they'd be back the following day so that I could finish my tale of how Granny Chiyo and I battled one of the Akastuki.

The rest of the afternoon I rested, half awake and half asleep. I quietly watched Juugo talking to his animal friends until sleep pulled me under its drowning wave.

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**Okay so let me know what to think. I will start on chapter 4 the moment I post this, but it may take a couple more days to post it but will hopefully be up before Friday. **

**Also no one had given me any suggestions about whether I should find a beta reader. I didn't I would need one, but I'm finding out some things while writing this that I could use a little extra help on. So, if anyone is a beta or know a good beta to use, please PM me with some details. **

**And well, I hoped you have enjoyed this chapter. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! I apologize for the long wait. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and I hope to be able to begin uploading chapters quicker now. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

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**Sasuke POV**

I had set a manageable pace through the trees. We were nowhere near full speed traveling through the trees. Suigetsu informed me I had been in the recovery tent five days. With that information, my concern for Juugo increased. Juugo, and Sakura, had been blasted away from the battlefield six days ago. I wasn't sure if they had even survived, but if there was any chance Juugo was alive I had to find him. I wouldn't let him down like I had Team 7, I owed that at least to him and Team Taka.

Juugo has not been separated from us and placed in a stressful situation since he joined Team Taka. I knew of his fear of going berserk and injuring an innocent. He had made great progress with controlling and using his curse since he has joined my team, but there was still a possibility that he could lose control. I was also slightly concerned for Sakura's safety.

_Sakura and I hadn't left off on good terms, especially after I tried to kill her after the Kage summit. I had seen the terror appear in her eyes when she looked at me. I'm sure she thought I was up to no good, and possibly there to hurt Naruto. _

_I looked at the battle raging behind her and the moment I saw the ten-tailed beast turned toward her something in my soul shivered. I wasn't sure what she meant to me anymore but I knew if something happened to her, Naruto would lose it. There was no way I would be able to help her. I heard Juugo yell at her. He was much closer and I could see he was partially releasing his curse. At the moment I knew he would protect her somehow._

_He increased his speed. He was so close but the ten-tailed beast was about to release the orb in his mouth. Sakura had managed to force chakra in front of her, like it was some kind of shield. The moment the orb hit her chakra, Juugo stepped in front of her and wrapped his arms around her body, and then they were blasted into the air. _

_Had Sakura been alone I would be sure that she wouldn't make it, but Juugo was unbelievably resilient and there was a good possibility they'd both make. Before I turned attention to my battle, I promised Juugo I'd find him._

"He's about two days ahead," Karin said, interrupting my memory.

"Hn."

"Can we take a break now?" Suigetsu asked.

"No, you idiot! Stop complaining. You always want a break," Karin argued.

"Do not! I just think we should conserve our chakra," he retorted.

"The sooner we ge—."

"He's right," I interrupted Karin.

"But… but…shouldn't we get there—," she started.

"If we get there and he is goes berserk, we can't stop him without chakra," I explained. "We'll stop and set up camp here tonight."

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We made camp in the center of a thick forest. It was a little marshy around the area, not at all like the forests of Konoha. I was stoking the fire and adding more kindling that I had collect when we stopped. Karin was about, trying to make a make shift sleeping bed for the night. Suigetsu had taken off to the river to catch dinner, and probably an afternoon swim as well.

"Sasuke-kun, would you like for me to fix you a place to sleep?" Karin asked, whiling pleading with her eyes. As she blushed she offered, "Or you could share mine."

"I'm fine without one Karin. You take it," I responded.

"Oh, okay," she said obviously disappointed.

"Thanks anyway Karin," I said. With that she seemed to perk up a little. She turned back to her project and continued working.

A couple of minutes later, Suigetsu busted through the brush holding several fish in his hand. He had another fish in his other hand, but it had many chunks taken out and we soon learned why. He put the fish back to his mouth and ripped a big piece of the fish belly off. While chewing the meat, he tossed a fish Karin.

"Eww! Gross Suigetsu," Karin screeched. She scrambled to push the fish off her lap.

"What?" he questioned. "It's food! Eat it or give it back so it's not wasted."

As they continued to bicker, I skewered my fish and roasted it over the fire. I grew tired of their constant arguing. It reminded me all too often of Sakura and Naruto. While ignoring their insults, I grabbed Karin's fish and spiked it too. The moment I thrust the stick into her hand she shut up and that bashful, blushing look appeared. A random thought crossed my mind. _Would Sakura still blush if I did something kind for her as well? _

As quick as the thought occurred, it vanished as well because Karin's eyebrows suddenly scrunched up and a perplexed look crossed her face. She wasn't the only one with that look either. Suigetsu stood there gaping at me and what remained of his fish was lying on the ground.

"Th-th-thank you," Karin offered.

I didn't look at her, just stared into the flickering flame that scorched the skin of the fish. The skin puckered some and hissed. I didn't know how to vocalize my thoughts to them. With my revenge complete, it was time to find a new goal and start a new life. They were all I had left and there was no reason to keep them at an arm's length, emotionally that is. It was time I started to care for others again and time I stopped turning my back on my friends.

Although, I was determined to change, it didn't mean it wouldn't take some time.

"Eat up and get some rest. We need to get to Juugo before he hurts someone."

They both silently agreed. Once they finished their dinner, Karin curled up on her make-shift bed and Suigetsu leaned against a tree. I continued to watch the flames until they died off in the dawning light and I wondered what I'd do once I saw Sakura with again.

**Sakura POV**

_The battlefield was nothing but a cloud of dust. Two figures were fighting in the distance, rapidly dodging and countering the others attacks. I walked closer to get a better view of the figures. _

_I got close enough to recognize the spiky blond hair that could belong to only one knucklehead ninja. The other figure was Madara. The battle seemed well-balanced, each of them landing hits as well as blocking attacks. They both had high stamina and it didn't seem as though they were going to finish their battle anytime soon._

_Their movements quickened and I couldn't follow their movements with my own eyes. They were only a blur of bodies. In a moment's time, their actions stopped. They both stood face to face, and almost touching bodies. The battle was over, but from my distance I couldn't tell who to victor was._

_"Naruto," I whispered. I prayed he was ok. I couldn't lose him._

_Naruto stumbled a few steps back. As the dust cleared, I could see Madara still standing there but blood escaped from his mouth and dribbled down his chin. Looking further down his body, there was a massive hole in his abdomen. Madara wavered and fell to his knees before landing face down on the ground. Naruto had done it! He defeated Madara._

_"Naruto," I yelled this time and began running toward him._

_He turned to look at me. Once he saw me he turned and spread his arms open wide so that I could hug him. The biggest smile captured his face and his cerulean eyes twinkled._

_I had almost reached him when the expression on his face changed. He began to cough and blood spilled to the ground in front of him. I didn't understand what was happening. I watched his lips as he mouthed words but not sound came out. I looked as though he had said my name and that he was sorry. That's when I noticed the fist sticking out from his chest. I screamed his name in horror. This couldn't be happening._

_The figure behind Naruto retracted the fist and Naruto fell forward to the ground. The figure laughed hysterically. The sound of his laughter was so frightening, shivers ran through my body. I looked on in horror at the figure. At first I thought I was Madara standing there, but once my eyes met his piercing gaze I knew exactly who it was. I also knew with Naruto dead there was no one to save me and his power was beyond my level. _

_I couldn't stop my body from trembling from the pure evil his presence invoked. He stalked forward. I stepped backwards and tripped, landing on my butt. He did not stop his movement towards me._

_"No," I pleaded. "Please don't do this." _

_My pleas went unheard as he continued to advance. _

_"No Sasuke," I begged. _

_An evil smirked appeared on his lips and he lunged towards me._

_"Sasuke," I screamed._

I sat up straight in bed. My heart was racing and beating hard against my rib cage. I looked around the room and noticed I was still in the hospital. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

I had only been a dream, just a dream. The fear however was still very much real. As I lay back down, I was afraid Sasuke would appear out of the shadows and finish what he had started in my dreams.


End file.
